the moral choice

  I was watching a civil war documentary yesterday, always something new to learn, and learn I did. The events leading up to that war were being explained and explored. A contributing factor was the election of Lincoln. Lincoln wasn't even on the ballot in ten southern states. There were four candidates running for office at that time. But after the ballots were counted, Lincoln was the clear victor. He had taken nearly every northern state. Those in the south were outraged! They expressed the feeling that Lincoln was not their president! Sounds familiar doesn't it. It was that that led to succession. Yes, there were a bunch of other issues that went along with all of that, issues about "commerce." Still the bottom line, for the southern states was the institution of slavery. It was that labor pool that drove their economy, the economy of king cotton. The northern states didn't begin that conflict, in fact, all sorts of compromises were offered, all to no avail. But Fort Sumter was taken and Lincoln had to respond. The purpose was the preservation of the Republic. It was not to free the slaves. That isn't what the north was fighting for. Lincoln had expressed that many times. Lincoln felt that eventually slavery would be abolished throughout the land and all it required was time. In fact he stated he didn't feel he had the power to abolish slavery by any executive order or action. Yes, the emancipation proclamation came later on but it didn't free all slaves, just those slaves in secessionist states. It was more of a antagonistic symbol than anything else. Following that, and with the continued horror and reality of war, the northern sentiments did shift a bit. Preserving the Republic now included freeing the slaves, on moral grounds. Morals are a great motivator to the foot soldier, to the one entering battle. Each side praying to their God, often it is the same God, asking for victory. You have to believe you are right before you ask though, that's the caveat. 

 So, I quit watching the series at that point and will continue later on. But it made me think  and realize just how much history does repeat itself. We have all heard secessionist talk in our own time. But it isn't North and South this time around, it is conservative vs liberal. Both sides are claiming the moral superiority. Isn't that the real issue? Now make no mistake economics is the driving factor in all of this, just as it was during the civil war, those that finance are not concerned with morals, they are concerned with profits. It is only the moral man that fights the battles. The common foot soldier will fight for their belief, for their cause, and risk it all. That isn't the case with the financiers though, they will bail out long before they suffer significant financial loss. Remembering the south and their fight, it was about money for them. They were all well aware that without cheap labor (slaves) they could not operate profitably. They proclaimed their right, as their cause. Indeed they had their spokesman that proclaimed the black man was made by God to be inferior to the white man. That was proclaimed in the halls of Congress! Those fighting in the field were convinced they were fighting for their sacred honor! A sentiment still expressed to this day. 

 We are facing the same choices today. Who is the moral majority? That is the question to be answered at this point in American history. Those founding fathers we speak about held the opinion that our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. Benjamin Rush is credited with writing that passage but Monroe, Jefferson, and others all concurred. One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Those words from the Pledge of Allegiance sum that up nicely. Penned in 1892 by a Baptist minister it has undergone many changes. It wasn't officially recognized by the government until 1942. In 1954, when I was just a year old, the words Under God were added and approved by President Eisenhower. He said those words would: " strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war." He was speaking of faith, belief in your God, and belief in the moral choice. Also expressed more succinctly as, for God and Country. 

 We are locked into a struggle between conservative and liberal. It has always been so. It was the impetus for mans' migrations. We call it, seeking a better life. What it really is is much harder to define. Certainly those migrating feel they are morally correct in doing so. Migration usually occurs when the "moral" man faces defeat. That is to say when we feel we can not beat the system, we yearn for freedom. The pursuit of happiness? What is that happiness? Jefferson substituted that phrase in the place of property. Yes, Jefferson understood that it was property that brought security, and security is happiness. Was Jefferson a conservative? By todays standards he most certainly would be. In his time, he was a radical! A radical as judged by the conservatives of his time that is. Today those definitions have reversed. In the final analysis it will be decided by the majority, the moral majority. 

 Lincoln famously said, a house divided against itself can not stand. He is correct. He was speaking about the institution of slavery. He stated then, these United States will one day either allow slavery in every state or abolish it forever. Never did Lincoln campaign on any promise of ending slavery. He did want to prohibit the spread of it however, but felt that is was the individuals state that should decide upon that, not the federal government. That he, and many other famous politicians before him abhorred that practice can not be denied, it was declared immoral, unjust, and just plain wrong many times. Still, the British had established that practice in the colonies. Much business depended upon that that. If you are a politician you don't want to upset those wealthy donors! Yes, it took a civil war and the loss of as many as 800,000 lives, no one is certain, for that practice to be abolished. It took 82 years! Yes, from our independence, (1783)  the official date the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the revolution and acknowledging the United States as an independent nation, was a period of 82 years. Slavery had existed for 250 years prior under British rule. America had fulfilled her promise of Liberty and Justice for all.  The wheels of justice turn slowly that is true, but they continue to turn. And it is the moral power that drives us ever forward. And now we face the question again, what is the moral path? Does Government have an obligation to provide happiness? Remember in this sense happiness means property. Is that a moral obligation of a nation? Or is the moral obligation simply to provide liberty and justice for all? My God, and perhaps yours, has given me free will to do as I would. My God does not provide me with any property, my God does not shield me from evil. My God does provide me with moral courage! Should any government do less? Or should any government attempt to do more? What is the moral choice?